Psychologists have long recognised the link between living in a mess and suffering from stress and anxiety. Clutter affects not only our anxiety levels but also our ability to focus and sleep. According to experts, this makes us less productive and it can trigger coping strategies such as snacking on junk foods.
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When the clutter is in the kitchen, it's even more likely that we'll eat more snacks. According to information taken from one study, a disorganised and messy kitchen environment led participants to eat twice as many biscuits as the those who had an organised kitchen.
The main benefit of tidying your kitchen is that you'll be able to find things easily and may get more pleasure from cooking and dining at home. It will also mean you won't find a tin of tomato soup that's three years out of date at the back of the cupboard!
Getting rid of kitchen clutter
Having a good clear-out will make use of your extra free time – and getting rid of items you no longer use and then reorganising your kitchen cupboards can work wonders for your mood!
One of the main sources of clutter is out-of-date food. A study of 2,000 UK adults found 66% felt so guilty about throwing away food past its sell-by date that they kept it. Many hang on to tinned food that is more than 13 weeks past its sell-by date, according to the One Poll research on behalf of Arla Cravendale.
Only 35% of people shop purely for the items they need, while 75% avoid throwing food away because they hate wasting money.
Instead of leaving food to go off in your cupboard, sort it out while it's still within its sell-by date and give stuff you're never going to eat to a food bank. If you still don't have enough cupboard space for what's left, don't leave packets of crisps, or other loose items, gathering dust on top. Put them into food storage containers instead. This looks a whole lot tidier and it preserves food for much longer.
How often should you clean kitchen cabinets?
You should clean out the kitchen cabinets at least once every couple of months, but ideally more often, according to the Why Bother Cleaning website. This means taking everything out and wiping down the shelves, as they can soon become soiled with crumbs, grease and dust.
Some people confess to avoiding hard-to-reach areas altogether, while cleaning storage cupboards under the sink is something many of us will steer well clear of altogether - it can be a tricky space, due to the plumbing and U-bend.
Store items such as dishwasher tablets, washing up liquid, dishcloths, tea-towels and cleaning products in different-sized plastic boxes underneath. That way, they are kept off your kitchen tops and the boxes will stack easily in the awkward space. It also means nothing will get damaged in the event of a plumbing problem, not to mention making it much harder for toddlers to get their hands on any potentially dangerous substances.
You can use functional, different-coloured storage containers that co-ordinate with your kitchen interior to store utensils, crockery, cutlery and anything else that doesn't have a home in a drawer or cupboard.
If you choose opaque containers, labelling them is useful, so you can identify the contents right away. The beauty of using durable plastic containers is that you can reuse them time and time again. They can literally last a lifetime!
How does decluttering make you feel?
Once you start decluttering your kitchen, you will feel a great sense of achievement. Not only will you feel less stressed; you will also find it a more pleasurable experience to cook and dine in there.
Don't forget recycling
Your kitchen is also an ideal place to practice recycling, as you can pop your recycling bins in a corner and get into the habit of putting waste in the relevant bins as and when.
While it’s important to keep up with household cleaning in normal times, keeping your home and kitchen surfaces clean during a pandemic takes on new significance. Use a good-quality anti-bacterial cleaning product and wipe down your kitchen surfaces after use and after you've unpacked shopping from the supermarket.
Once you have made the effort, you should be inspired to carry on with the good work. Keeping your surroundings tidy is a good way to remain in a more positive frame of mind during lockdown.